


Still Here

by mimimadrox



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 03:04:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6498280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimimadrox/pseuds/mimimadrox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by this prompt: Person A has passed away and has been watching over B. One night, B finds all of the albums they used to listen to with A. B starts to cry and listens to the songs, and A materializes to dance and sing with B in their own little world.<br/>Also inspired by this song: Still Here by Digital Daggers</p><p>Every night, she cries herself to sleep. Every night, she dreams of him and they dance. Every morning, she wakes up alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Here

**Author's Note:**

> I recommend listening to Digital Dagger's "Still Here" before/during/after you read this, as it not only partially inspired the fic, but I was also listening to it while I wrote most of it.

It had been almost a week since the Grimm invasion and Neo had been blown off the airship by little red riding hood, leaving Roman to continue fighting her alone.

It had been almost a week since the airship had crashed and Neo had discovered him in the wreckage, too late to do anything but grieve.

After that, she had abandoned Cinder’s faction, refusing to continue helping them with their plans, and holed up in the apartment she and Roman used to share, barely ever leaving their bed.

Neo was currently laying in bed, staring at the window at the sunset, watching the sun as it slowly sunk out of sight. As soon as the stars appeared, gathered around Remnant's broken moon and glittering against the dark blue of the sky--Neo turned to the nightstand.

On the nightstand next to the bed sat a stereo and inside the stereo was a CD--a mix CD that Neo had made, compiled of songs that reminded her of Roman, including a few of his favorite songs. Ever since his death, she would cry herself to sleep while the music played, wishing he was still with her, holding her like he used to. And while she slept, she would dream. In her dreams, he would be there. They would be in their room, the music would still be playing, and together, they would dance. And when their dance was done, she would wake up and discover that she was back in bed, the stereo was silent--the CD having played all the way through--, the morning sunlight beaming at her from the window.

And he would be gone and she would cry, missing him.

But every night, she would see him again in her dreams, and they would dance the same old dance, never saying much, just enjoying each other's presence, even if it wasn't real.

It was the only thing she looked forward to anymore.

* * *

The first night it happened, Neo lay in bed, the broken moon shining in from the window. She reached over and turned on the stereo, pressing **Play** and closing her eyes as the first song started, tears already staining the pillow beneath her head.

A couple of songs passed before she felt it: a light touch on her shoulder. Her eyes flew open and she jerked up in bed, turning to see who in the intruder was, her mind racing--she hadn't heard anyone enter the apartment and the music was set to a fairly low volume. Her weapon was close, but not close enough to grab--although, she was sure she'd usually be fine without it, she'd been caught off-guard, curled up in bed, and was not in the right state of mind to be fighting.

However, when her mind finally processed the person standing at the edge of the bed, she realized that it was not in an intruder.

His name was just a whisper from her lips, “Roman?”

"Neo," He smiled softly, a smile only reserved for her. "Care to dance?"

He looked just like he always did: hat and all. He looked so _alive_. Neo couldn't believe what she was seeing and, for a split second, she couldn't help wondering if she was dreaming. She had to be dreaming--she'd found his body herself. She knew for a fact that he was gone.

And yet, there he stood, holding out his hand to her, patiently waiting for her to take it.

Fresh tears rolling down her cheeks, she eagerly did so and he pulled her from the bed, wrapping his arms around her tightly. She was surprised by how real he felt--how _warm_ \--like he was still alive. She looked up at him, still in shock. "How...?"

Instead of answering her, Roman wiped the tears from her cheeks, then lead her away from the bed towards the middle of the room, where they would have more space to move.

Deciding not to waste time by bombarding him with all the questions she had in her head, she kept silent and slipped one hand into his and placed her other on his shoulder; his free hand settled on her waist. Together, they began to dance, moving around the room, perfectly in-sync with one another, as well as with the music. And despite the height difference, the two performed well together, practically floating around the room. The two had danced together before, in their off-hours when they weren't doing Cinder's bidding. It was one of the many things they would only do with each other, no one else.

As they moved with the music, it felt like they were in their own little world, far away from reality. No Grimm, no Cinder, no little red riding hood—just them. It was like he had never died and she wasn't alone in a city taken over by Grimm, living in an apartment that housed nothing but her and her memories now.

As the song neared its end, Roman twirled Neo in a slow circle before pulling her back to him and leaning close to whisper in her ear: _"I love you."_ They were words he rarely said--he was better with actions than words--and when he did say them, she knew that he meant it.

They finished their dance with a dip and a featherlight kiss. Content in the moment, Neo allowed herself to close her eyes.

When she opened them again, she was laying in bed. Roman was gone, the stereo was silent, and it was morning.


End file.
